A Watcher's Son 5, Evolution
by Alec Star
Summary: Fifth and final part of 'A Watcher's Son'. The New Council confronts its first serious challenge and Giles makes a remarkable discovery. Crossover with The Sentinel.
1. Chapter 1: Five Little Children

**_Disclaimers:_** I don't own the characters, I don't own the concepts, I make no money, I make no sense and i get no sleep but on a positive note I do love feedback (so please review)

**_Warning/comment:_** This is a series I wrote between about two years ago, before I really started posting here and it has not really been revised since then, so there may be a few mistakes here and there, sorry about that.

The story is complete, there are 52 chapters to this thing, split into five parts with an interlude between parts one and two. This is part 5.

This is obviously a crossover.

**_Timeline:_** Buffy-wise this story is post 'Chosen' and slightly AU.

* * *

A Watcher's Son 5 - Evolution**_  
_**Chapter 1: Five Little Children

The scene we are confronted with as we walk into the abandoned warehouse is one of the most disturbing I've ever seen and that is saying something. There are five corpses here, all of them children between the ages of ten and twelve and going by their clothes I would guess that they were probably either homeless or runaways. The absence of blood strikes me as odd. The whole place seems almost sterile and the bodies show no obvious wounds... except for the fact that their eyes seem to be missing completely. There are no signs of struggle but there are no indications that they were killed elsewhere and then brought here either.

The more I think about it the more convinced I become that we are not dealing with a human predator here... and seeing how the bodies haven't been drained and their heads are still attached I can assume that we are probably dealing with either a demon or a demon worshiping cult that is clearly not of the B-movie variety... and I have no idea how to break that bit of news to Simon. He had enough trouble wrapping his mind around vampires and Immortals so I suspect this is not going to be pretty. In fact I suspect that dealing with the crime scene is going to be the least unpleasant half of this thing.

Upon closer examination Jim tells me that it's not just their eyeballs that are missing, it seems like something sucked out the entire contents of their skulls through their eyesockets... which means we are probably dealing with a demon of a brain-sucking variety. I rule out the demon worshiping cult as being directly responsible for the deaths and shiver when I realize that I'm no longer even shocked by the notion of a brain-sucking demon, but I rapidly push that thought aside. I have no time for it. Hopefully that particular bit of info will help my father, Dawn and Willow narrow down their search. I also hate myself for hoping that the demon made the right choice when selecting its victims. A part of me can only hope that these children won't ever be identified. No parent deserves to hear that their child died in such a way.

I focus my attention back on Jim. I can see that he is going over the scene methodically and I guide him as he focuses on each one of his senses, but particularly on smell. That is the one most likely to be useful to us as chances are the demon has a characteristic scent that will hopefully enable us to track it. He also looks for anything that may have remained here if some ritual had been performed --knowing that even though a demon was most likely directly responsible for these children's deaths we can't rule out the possibility of human accomplices-- but that does not seem to be the case.

After a couple of hours we can finally go looking for Simon to confirm that it is indeed one of **_those_** cases and that it will be taken care of but not 'solved'. I know he hates that but judging by his reaction earlier today to the news that these five corpses had been found, I think the horror of this particular case has finally made him realize why we insists that these cases not even be investigated by other detectives. It is not because we are trying to keep the occult, well... occult, but rather because any cop who happens to get too close to a demon such as this one wouldn't stand a chance and there's no point in needlessly adding to the bodycount.

* * *

I am already working on the first carefully edited draft of my official report by the time the autopsy results come in confirming what we already knew. In going over them I notice a few additional details that seem odd and may turn out to be useful for my father and Willow when they conduct their own search for our killer. Oddly enough the most remarkable one has to do more with what isn't there than with what is. We have five bodies, all of them children under the age of twelve and there is not a single bruise to be found among them. This goes far beyond an absence of a struggle which could possibly be explained away.

I can remember enough of my own childhood to know that there was not a single day from the time I was ten to the time I was twelve when I did not have a bruise on me... and my life was probably far more sheltered than the one our young victims led. And yet we have not one but five young corpses, all of them totally bruise free. If I had to guess I'd say these children were taken a couple of weeks before they were murdered. They were cared for for unknown reasons and only later were they killed.

If they were indeed taken long before they died then that would seem to corroborate my original guess that these victims were carefully chosen to be children who would not be missed... it would also explain why none of them has been identified so far.

Moving on from the bruise mystery I focus my attention on the more gruesome details of the autopsy reports... details that tell me that not only were their eyes and brains missing but that all the veins and arteries that remained had been cauterized somehow. That fact in itself eliminates any doubt I might have had regarding the fact that this was the handiwork of anyone but a demon. That is the only possible explanation for the condition the corpses were found in and the total absence of blood at the scene... of course I know that doesn't necessarily mean that the demon had no human followers. I am aware that it's not all that unusual for demons to have cults of followers who provide them with human victims and I know that may still turn out to be the case here.

I close my eyes for a moment but my mind takes me back to that warehouse and those corpses. This case is going to be a difficult one, but this demon is going down. By killing those children in our city this demon blurred the final line. This is not one case we'll just hand over to my father and Buffy and then look the other way... it won't be one of **_their_** cases, it will be one of **_ours_**.


	2. Chapter 2: Find that Fiend

**_For notes, warnings and disclaimers see chapter 1_**  
**_  
_**Chapter 2: Find that Fiend

I swear I'm going to kill Ellison. I know he's anxious to figure out just what it is that we are dealing with, we all are, but he's driving me crazy... he's driving us **_all_** crazy. He may be a detective and a sentinel, he may be able to read a crime scene better than anyone else on this planet but just ask him to stand by while we play a game of 'find that fiend' using those strange objects commonly known as books and the result is not a pretty picture. I think his problem is not so much the research part of the equation as the stand by one... unfortunately seeing how most of the texts we are working with are not exactly modern English he has no choice but to wait while Giles, Willow, Dawn and I do most of the work. Blair is helping us as best he can so he's unavailable to keep Ellison calm and patient is not the first adjective that comes to my mind when I think about the detective.

From what I've been able to observe in these past couple of hours there's a distinct pattern to his behavior. He paces around the room for about five minutes, then he picks up a book, gets frustrated when he **_can't_** understand it, attempts to throw it against a wall --this causes Giles to react by rushing to the poor book's rescue and that breaks everyone's concentration-- then there's a short shouting match, Blair does his best to get everyone to calm down again, Jim apologizes, settles down and manages to look contrite for about three minutes before he starts fidgeting again, he complains that we are wasting time and he doesn't want to find any more dead children in **_his_** city... then he gets up, starts pacing again and we repeat the process.

The truth is that this whole thing would probably be a lot easier without this modern obsession with the well-being of children.That's what's gotten to them all and I'm just waiting for one of them to explode. Back when child mortality was at about eighty percent a child who lived was seen as a pleasant surprise, today a dead child is seen as unnatural... of course the violence and the demons aren't exactly helping matters either. We are all tense, we are doing the best we can and I know it is only a matter of time before Ellison's impatience causes someone else to react. Me? I'm just waiting for the fireworks to start.

I don't have to wait long.

There are certain things money can't buy and the look on Jim's face when Willow finally snaps and tells him to please just go PMS elsewhere definitely qualifies as priceless. I manage to draw on millennia of experience to contain my mirth but the others aren't so lucky and that only makes matters worse... well at least I can hope that little respite was enough to break the tension and allow everyone to focus. I don't know when I decided to go grow myself a conscience --maybe it was a side effect of spending too much time with a certain Highlander who shall remain nameless-- all I know is that even though the thing is damn annoying, I do want to find this demon just as badly as everyone else here.

I think the problem is that this is one instance in which we are finding our library to be woefully inappropriate. We have made more progress than I could have hoped for in rebuilding it but for really obscure demons it is still not enough, and in this case we are drawing a blank. I'm not particularly surprised by that, seeing how Willow has already managed to input most of the relevant info we have available into the database and that was the first thing we checked, but still there's bound to be some sort of clue somewhere. I suspect our breakthrough will take the form of something that just happens to jog the watcher's memory rather than something that is directly contained in the volumes we have available to us, but still I keep on reading. I just hope that that breakthrough won't be in the form of more corpses.

Come to think of it, that is one interesting difference between the new Council and both of the old ones. I remember how much trouble Adam Pierson got into for creating the Immortal database... I wonder what the Immortal Watchers would have made out of Willow. The truth is that over the past few months I've grown to like her, all of them really, and I'm going to miss them. I know it's just a matter of time before I lose them and there's nothing I can do about it. Five thousand years may have taught me not to waste what little time I have with mortal friends thinking about the future but sometimes those thoughts do creep in... and the thing is that for the first time in a really long time I feel like I am home. There's no hero worship here, I don't have to hide and I'm not a legend either. I'm just a guy, no stranger than anyone else around here and even though I'm in the front lines of the most dangerous battle ever fought I am also incredibly safe. We watch each other's backs and I know no Immortal can hope to get past them.

I am brought back to the matter at hand by Giles muttered "Dear Lord!"


	3. Chapter 3: Ylnevaeh

**_For notes, warnings and disclaimers see chapter 1_**  
**_  
_**Chapter 3: Ylnevaeh

Did Giles just say 'Dear Lord!'? I really hope not, that's never a good thing when we are researching but I'm pretty sure that's what he said. I look around and I'm relieved to see I'm not the only one who seems to be more than a little worried about it. We haven't really had a 'dear lord' worthy demon since we defeated the First.

"I suspect we may be dealing with a Ylnevaeh demon here. A member of the group usually referred to as the 'Phoenix demons'. They are ancient and very dangerous." Giles says as if that were an explanation.

"So, how do we kill it?" I ask, I really just want to get this over with... and if at all possible I'd rather keep Giles from going into full lecture mode.

"Well, that's the problem, you see Phoenix demons as a rule don't reproduce by traditional means."

"That's good to know but I want to kill it, Giles, not date it," I remind him.

"Yes, Buffy, I'm getting to that. As I was saying Phoenix demons are asexual and unable to reproduce by traditional means, they are known as Phoenix demons because they are reborn from their remains... no matter how badly mutilated those remains are. Do you remember the Judge?"

"Kind of hard to forget."

"Well, as you may recall it could not be killed."

"And yet we managed to blow him to itty bitty pieces."

"And even then those pieces were trying to reassemble themselves. The thing is that the Judge shared some common traits in that regard with Phoenix demons, unfortunately there's one big difference: with the Judge the parts had the ability to reassemble themselves back into the original demon, with Phoenix demons each part, no matter how small has the ability to grow into a fully developed demon."

"Let me get this straight: you are saying that it can't be killed and if we blow it to pieces each part will become one more demon? That by fighting it we could end up creating a whole army of these whatever you call it demons?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. It can't reproduce but in fighting it you could easily trigger an infestation that could bring an end to mankind. A single drop of demon blood shed is all it would take for a new demon to be born."

"Okay, so that probably wouldn't be of the good. So if we can't kill it and we can't blow it up what are we supposed to do with it? 'Cause somehow I don't think it would make for a very nice pet, so I figure keeping it around isn't really an option either."

"We are going to have to do some more research. Unfortunately there are still so many books that are missing that I'm not sure just how useful that research will be. We have some information on Phoenix demons as a group but we have almost nothing on Ylnevaeh demons per se... other than the fact that going by their name chances are they are one of the nastiest members of the Phoenix family."

"How so?" I ask, not quite following Giles's logic on that one.

"Well, while demon names usually have obscure origins that are all but impossible to understand, those few instances in which the names have a clearly discernible meaning tend to refer to extremely deadly demons... and with a name as obvious as Ylnevaeh that is a bad sign."

"Of course, that's such an everyday word, how could I not see that!" I say.

"Write it down, Buffy. Y-L-N-E-V-A-E-H, you've got that."

"I got it, still doesn't make sense but I've got it." I growl.

"Okay, now read it backwards... use a mirror if you have to. Now tell me what the name of this demon is."

"Heavenly. Okay, I'm going to take a wild guess and say that's **_really _**not good."

"The little I've been able to figure out is that it feeds on the fear and life force of the young. That's why it's victims were between ten and twelve, old enough to know to be afraid, young enough that they are still considered pure."

"Kind of like the Kindertot on steroids?" I ask, not really looking forward to having to fight anything that even remotely resembles that one. It may have been easily defeated but I can't forget my first encounter with its handiwork... the one I never knew I had.

"Well, I wouldn't put it quite like that but, yes, that may be a good analogy to describe this demon, only it doesn't hide under the cover of disease, it is not invisible and the results of its actions are quite apparent in the corpses it leaves behind."

"But if the children were afraid why didn't they fight?" I hear Blair ask.

"Because, if I remember correctly, Ylnevaeh demons have a thrall much stronger than that of a master vampire. I suspect they may use that power to paralyze their victims and play with their fear before killing them."

"Man, I hate it when that happens! Didn't their mothers ever tell demons not to play with their food?" Says Xander trying to lighten the mood a little, I don't blame him but I don't think Giles is going to be too happy about that one.

"Xander, this is serious! What we have here doesn't fit the usual pattern for this particular demon, that's why it took me so long to identify it even though it kills its victims in a very distinctive fashion."

"What do you mean that the pattern doesn't fit?" asks Blair.

"Usually Ylnevaeh demons keep a low profile. They strike isolated locations and vanish. You can say that they are known for their surgical strikes..."

"And going by what we know of how it kills by sucking its victims' brains out, I'd say that 'surgical' is a particularly ironic definition," mutters Xander.

"Yes, well, what I mean is that they may kill all the children in one family, more rarely they may strike in small villages where they wreck havoc, but as a rule they don't attack major population centers."

"So why Cascade?" asks Jim who's obviously still not happy that this is happening in **_his_** city.

"That's what's troubling. These demons usually keep to themselves but with the forces of darkness in total disarray since the Hellmouth was closed it would not be unthinkable for one of them to make a strategic move to position itself as a major player."

"What are you implying here?" asks Blair.

"I'm saying those five killings may have been the demon's calling card... and Cascade may be about to become a focus of supernatural activity. Not exactly a Hellmouth since it's not located on a convergence of mystical forces, but a demon magnet nonetheless."

"I so did not need to hear **_that_**." I say with a sinking feeling. I can't keep myself from thinking that here we go again.


	4. Chapter 4: This Little Demon

**_For notes, warnings and disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Chapter 4: This Little Demon

As soon as my father says that the five corpses we found yesterday could be merely the demon's calling card I feel the mood shift. Everyone goes into high alert mode and I have the feeling that this will be our introduction to a true Big Bad. What I've heard so far is not exactly reassuring... how do you defeat a demon that cannot be fought? That's the first question that comes to my mind but it's not the only one. I need to know if this demon is working alone or if it has help... **_human_** help. I am still considering this when the questions begin. The first one to recover is Willow.

"Giles, is this Ylnevaeh demon vulnerable to magic? I mean, if we can't take it down in hand to hand combat that could be an option, right?"

"Not really, it has some barriers that cut most of our magical options as well, unfortunately."

"What do you mean?"

"It can't be destroyed by magic and it is bound to this dimension, so a magical portal wouldn't really help us either," explains my father.

"But it's not totally immune to magic?" Willow insists.

"No, not completely, but the most you can realistically expect to do is move it... and unfortunately even that would have to be confined to a place that is within your field of vision and I can't really see how moving it a handful of miles is going to help us."

"Great, so what are we supposed to do with it?" asks Buffy who is **_not_** looking happy.

"I don't know, really, no Ylnevaeh demon has ever been truly defeated," explains Giles, "they are rare enough and when it comes to Phoenix demons I have to admit that the Council's philosophy used to be to look the other way. The belief was that they didn't really kill enough people to warrant attempting to fight them... that was deemed to be just too dangerous."

"Except now it's moved into the city and that's no longer a viable option," I say, finding my voice again... I don't like what I've heard so far.

"Exactly."

"Well, I have a different question: is it likely to be working alone or could there be some sort of cult that is providing it with victims?"

"I think it probably operates alone but I can't be certain. It would be abnormal for it to be associated with humans but then again an open attack in a major city is an abnormal behavior in itself... and I suspect we may have something to do with that."

"Why?"

"Why else would it choose Cascade? It's too much of a coincidence... I think it is challenging us. What better way to make a statement than to take us out? I'm not particularly familiar with the demon community but I think it's safe to assume that they know we are here," says Methos and I see my father nodding at his explanation. I turn around and I can see that Jim is not happy about that one.

"So?" asks Buffy

"So what better way to make a statement than to take out the ones demons fear the most?" Methos clarifies.

"And that would be us... I guess it kind of makes sense," she admits.

"What led you to suspect human involvement in the first place?" asks my father bringing the conversation back to my previous question.

"No bruises," I explain, "it's unnatural for five children that age to be completely bruise free. I thought that could indicate some sort of ritual... or at least that they had been kept alive for a couple of weeks after they were captured and it just didn't strike me as something a demon would do. I mean if the demon snatched them itself, why wait?"

"I'm afraid there may be a different explanation for that, one you probably won't like. As I said this demon feeds on its victims' fear and life force, and it also possesses a very powerful thrall. The children could easily have been paralyzed while the demon terrified them and that could have gone on for weeks. Only when it got tired of playing did it feed off their life force and killed them."

"Okay, so what do we have so far?" asks Buffy

"A powerful demon, probably acting alone, probably challenging us directly. It can't be fought by traditional means and chances are magic won't be much help either," surmises Methos.

"In other words an impressive list of maybes topped by a couple of really yummy 'nothing useful'," says Xander.

"So what **_would_** work?" asks Tara.

"I'm not sure. We can't risk an infestation though, that much is clear," says my father.

"Could I move it anywhere within my field of vision?" asks Willow, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Yes, why?"

"**_Anywhere_** anywhere or are there some additional parameters?"

"Anywhere as long as it is somewhere you can see and it is in this dimension."

"No fine print as to how clearly I can see it?"

"No, what are you thinking?"

"I'm still not sure just yet, it's really vague right now and I'll have to think about it but I think I may have an idea. It's not much but so far is the only thing we have. Can the demon itself use magic against us?"

"No."

"Can it teleport back to a previous location?"

"Fortunately no, but since you are limited in how far you can send it that doesn't really help much."

"So it would have to be able to basically walk back to where it was?"

"Yes."

"Well, at least that's something."

"Even then we would have to be able to track it down," Jim points out.

"What does it look like?" I ask, seeing that he has a point. In order to get rid of this thing we have to find it first.

"Its true form is unknown," explains Giles, "its thrall results in a glamour that makes it look human... it may show on Buffy's radar if it's close enough and you may be able to see through that glamour but that's about all I can tell you. Its human facade probably looks average and non-threatening but that's just a guess and I can't be any more specific than that. I can't even tell you whether its form will be male or female."

"Why would I be able to see it?"

"Remember your first meeting with Buffy?"

"Not likely to forget it any time soon," I say grinning at Buffy who looks offended.

"How many times do I have to apologize for that?" she growls.

"It's not about holding grudges, Buffy, all I'm saying is that he could see through the illusion of the Key so maybe he can see through that of the demon."

"Will a locator spell work?" asks Willow.

"I don't know... as I said the Council's approach to these demons was to leave them alone. I don't know if a specific locator spell would work and I'm not even sure it would show on a general locator spell."

"Maybe a general spell and then we could narrow it down?" suggests Tara.

"What do you mean?"

"I think maybe we could do a spell to locate all the demons in Cascade, then we can eliminate demons by variety, like make it not recognize vampires, polgaras and so on until only demons of unknown varieties remains... or maybe just make it so that lone species representatives show."

"Lone species representatives?"

"Yes, if as we believe this demon is acting alone a spell that would highlight only those varieties of demons of which there's a single representative could save us some time."

"That's a good idea but I think we need some sort of plan before we try it. Once we find it we have to be able to take it down because somehow I don't see us getting a second chance here," Methos points out.


	5. Chapter 5: By the Book Literally

**_For notes, warnings and disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Chapter 5: By the Book... Literally

I have to agree with Methos here, this is going to be a one shot. Willow seemed to have some sort of idea --which is more than I can say for myself-- so I decide to start there.

"Willow, what was your idea?"

"Well, it's kind of crazy but first of all I need to know if Tara would be up to some elemental magic if we really need it," she says, turning to her partner.

"It depends on what you want me to do, I guess."

"I'm not sure it's going to be necessary, but a bit of weather control... local scale."

"I think I can manage."

"Good," she says though I'm still not sure what she's up to.

"You still haven't told us what you are planning," I remind her.

"That's 'cause I'm not really sure it's a good idea and I'd really rather make it plan B," Willow explains and going by how nervous she seems to be I can guess I'm not going to like this.

"To make it plan B we would have to have a plan A first, which we don't have," Xander points out.

"Yes, well, that's kind of why I don't want to say anything just yet."

"Why don't you tell us about it and if we have to we'll try to come up with a plan A," I say, knowing that right now we need something --anything-- resembling a plan... we can always refine it later.

"Well, I mean, timing would be everything and it would take a **_lot_** of energy, but if we choose the day carefully and we do it shortly before dawn I think it could work. The thing is that we would have to corner this thing outdoors and then there are so many things that could go wrong but..."

"Willow, you are babbling," cuts in Buffy.

"Sorry about that, I'm kind of nervous here. You said I can move it within my vision field, right?" asks Willow turning to me.

"Yes," I say.

"And you said there's no fine print, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, you said I had to stick to this dimension but you never said I had to stick to this world, right?"

"Yes... wait where are you planning on sending it?"

"I was kind of thinking Venus might be the best option here."

"Why Venus? I mean, wouldn't the sun or the moon make better choices?" I hear Buffy ask.

"The sun would seem to be easier but I kind of ruled it out for a couple of reasons. First of all we don't know what it would do to the demon, we don't know if it would successfully kill it or if it would continue to reproduce there at an accelerated rate instead and I really don't want to mess with that since it could end up being far worse than having it reproducing here on Earth if it gets to the point of affecting the sun's stability. Also, in order to send it to the sun we would have to track it and fight it during the day and that would take Spike out of the equation. I'd rather avoid anything that would weaken us during the fight."

"Okay, good thinking, so why not the moon, or Mars or some distant star for that matter?" I ask, curious about her reasoning.

"The moon is a bit too close for comfort. One manned flight and the demon could hitch a ride home, the same goes for Mars, besides Venus is a lot closer to us right now, so it would be easier to control. Also I don't think anyone is likely to try to get to Venus. I mean you are talking about a world with a surface temperature of more than 900° F, with a lot of volcanic activity, an atmospheric pressure that is 90 times that of Earth and let's just say that the acid rain there is no picnic since the clouds that make it look so pretty are made of hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acid. Besides, it's twice as bright as Mars and that makes it easier to identify."

"Okay, so cutting through the geek-talk we have that Venus is hellish enough that a demon would feel right at home?" clarifies Xander.

"Pretty much. As far as a distant star goes, I don't have the power to move it that far, and besides their positions are an optical illusion... they seem to be where they were as many years ago as their light took to get to us, so I wouldn't want to risk missing the mark. Venus is only a couple of light minutes away anyway so that's not an issue."

"But why did you ask Tara if she could do some elemental magic if need be?" he asks.

"Hello... Cascade here, not Sunnydale. If I have to be able to see where I'm sending the demon a cloudy night could ruin everything."

"That could actually work," I say, amazed by the simplicity of Willow's idea. Sometimes I tend to forget that before she discovered magic she used to be considered a science nerd. I had been looking at this thing from a mystical perspective, troubled by the fact that the demon is bound to this dimension... Willow merely sidestepped the whole issue.

"Hey, wait a minute, buster, I said I wanted to make it plan B, so we still need to find a plan A," she says and I know I'm in for a long night trying to talk Willow into her own plan.


	6. Chapter 6: Out of Habit

**_For notes, warnings and disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Chapter 6: Out of Habit

Knowing that the demon feeds on children --and knowing that all its previous victims had been runaways-- Jim and I promptly found ourselves on the seedier side of town. It was natural for us to be there, seeing how we were investigating the murders, but once we arrived we knew we were bound to hit a wall. Runaways are not exactly trusting and the sad fact is that --for the most part-- those around them tend to either ignore them or exploit them. They have their own sub-culture and cops are not exactly welcome with open arms... not surprising when you consider what most of their backgrounds are like. In other words we knew we wouldn't exactly find a lot of cooperative potential witnesses eager to provide us with useful information.

Out of need we turned to the handful of groups that could possibly help us: charities that work with the children on a regular basis and are at least somewhat familiar with them. At first that too seemed like it was bound to be a dead end. The number of children and the fact that most of those organizations are run by volunteers and have no real system in place to keep track of them seemed to be an unsurmountable obstacle when it came to finding a common link between all our victims but then something changed: We realized that we had one nun too many --one whose presence there we could not really explain-- and soon _she_ became our prime suspect. I guess as a result of our own cultural bias we had assumed that the demon would have chosen a male form... that was a mistake and a stupid one at that. If the demon wanted to gain the children's trust then it needed a human facade and it was only natural that that facade would be one its intended victims would deem to be non-threatening. For that a nun was perfect.

While runaways tend to be wary of strangers, most of them have gotten used to having nuns and priests trying to meddle in their lives --whether they want them to or not-- even if not all of them welcome their presence. By assuming the guise of a nun the demon was able to get close to them in a way few people can. It may have been ignored by most of the children but a few obviously fell for its trick... and for a hungry child the promise of a hot bowl of soup coming from a seemingly benign source --of a bowl of soup that does not carry a price tag-- may have been enough.

Once we knew who it was that we were looking for, finding the demon was surprisingly easy. Not only was it not really hiding its presence but also by assuming the guise of a nun --by wearing a habit-- it made itself easily recognizable. As my father had predicted I was indeed able to see through the illusion from the very beginning. Its aura felt off... way off. It's hard for me to explain exactly what it felt like --believe me, it's not like I haven't tried. Unfortunately words have some serious shortcomings when it comes to describing things that cannot be translated into a shared experience. Language works only among people who share a common frame of reference and even that is mostly a cultural thing. When someone says 'it sounds like rain' the analogy works only because both parties know what rain sounds like, and both of their experiences when it comes to the sound of rain are indeed similar enough to enable them to understand each other... and in some instances even those simple analogies can be trickier than they seem. The sun may seem to be yellow enough to us but most Japanese will actually tell you that it is red. The thing is that in a way trying to explain to my father exactly why the demon's presence felt 'off' was almost like trying to describe a tune to someone who is completely deaf.

On a positive note I think Giles's questions on the matter have served to teach me a valuable lesson, one that was long overdue. For years now I've been pestering Jim, asking him to describe to me what he sees, what he hears or smells and more than once I took offense when he tried to blow me off and avoid answering my questions. I have to admit I was less than understanding about that, now I realize that maybe it wasn't that he didn't **_want_** to answer my questions, it was merely that he **_couldn't_**. Just like I can't explain to my father why it is that the demon feels off, so Jim was unable to share with me the details of his own sensory experiences... there was just no way I could have possibly understood what he was saying because we lack the necessary common references but it goes deeper than that. Given that in a sense language only allows us to share comparable experiences, it is entirely possible that Jim's senses may be beyond its scope. Simply put, chances are that the words Jim would have needed in order to convey his experiences don't even exist.

As I said, this has been a valuable lesson but right now I can't afford to spend too much time thinking about it. Right now there's a demon on the loose and we have to track it down... the good news is that --even if he can't describe it-- Jim has caught its scent.


	7. Chapter 7: More than Words

**_For notes, warnings and disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Chapter 7: More Than Words

I think I've learned my lesson: I should really pay more attention to what I say around Willow. Yesterday she overheard my little rant concerning the fact that there were no words I could use to tell my father just how the demon's aura felt like and that got her thinking and when it comes to Willow thinking is not always a good thing... especially not when it leads to something else.

In this particular case it led her to revise one of her spells, one she has used more than once to create a telepathic link to enable the Scoobies to communicate in the battlefield without being overheard. What I said piqued her curiosity and she decided to try to expand it to overcome those limitations I had mentioned by causing the link to be formed at a pre-linguistic rather than a linguistic level. I must admit that it sounded like an interesting idea and my father's grumbling about the fact that maybe she could have thought about it sooner was rather amusing. I remember when the slayers first arrived and I remember that a couple of them did not speak English so I can understand where he is coming from.

Up until that point things were not so bad. Willow's idea had the potential to become a fascinating experiment but of course around here nothing ever stays that simple... every new idea must be put to use, must be given a purpose and this one was no different. I suspect the fact that they are all bored and more than a little antsy didn't exactly help matters either. We have a plan, we have identified our demon and we are all ready to go, eager to stop it before it can kill again... but we can't. Because of the nature of Willow's plan we must wait a few days longer simply because Venus is not visible right now and having to wait is not exactly helping anyone's mood. In other words, we have too many idle minds looking for a diversion... any kind of diversion.

The thing is that once Willow started toying with the idea of a pre-linguistic link the others jumped on board, coming up with all kinds of scenarios in which such a link could be useful and quite a few in which it could be a potential disaster. Of course, seeing how ever since they were children the Scoobies have lived for their fight, it was only a matter of time before the link evolved from being merely a scientific curiosity into an effective weapon that could enable us to operate almost as a single being under certain circumstances.

I must admit that what they propose has merit, even Jim was impressed. The basic idea is for eight of us to be linked together for the upcoming battle while we are organized in teams of two with each team fulfilling a specific role. Jim and I are bound to become almost like collective eyes and ears, taking advantage of Jim's senses and my ability to **_see_** the demon. My dad and Methos are going to become our brain, taking over the strategy while Willow and Tara are to become our nervous system, transmitting information back and forth. Finally, Buffy and Spike will become our hands and feet and, as the strongest ones of us, they will take care of the actual fighting. In other words, somehow my innocent rant about the limitations of language to convey unique experiences has become a really terrifying plot to turn ourselves into some sort of super organism, almost like a human ant colony.

There were some objections raised, obviously, with Methos being the most vocal. That did not come as a surprise seeing how, if it weren't because he was probably hiding somewhere at the time, the Old Man could have become the textbook case for paranoia and he could easily have had the disorder named after him. The one objection that did come as a surprise as far as I was concerned was Buffy's. At first she was dead set against the idea, reminding her friends of what had happened with the aspect of the demon. It took Willow a long time to convince her that the link as she had planned it would be safe, that we wouldn't lose ourselves in it. That also served to address some of my own concerns, even if I hadn't really had a chance to voice them yet.

I understand the link won't be permanent, I know we will remain in control of how much the others learn about us and I know it could become a decisive weapon in our arsenal under certain circumstances, but I still can't help but feel that it goes against a basic part of human nature, the one that makes us individuals. Also, as Methos was quick to point out, even if we can control how much of us the others get to see, there are some serious risks that cannot be overlooked, things that can't possibly be predicted. We don't know what would happen if one of us were to be wounded --we don't know whether or not that would incapacitate the whole group-- and we certainly don't know what would happen if one of us were to die while we are connected.

There are too many variables for my liking here, certainly more than the scientist in me would have deemed safe before attempting something like this if it were up to me, but there are also huge potential benefits, benefits that could some day literally save the world if this works so I can't bring myself to object too loudly. And in spite of the fact that I am undeniably worried about what this link will bring, I have to admit that there is also a part of me that is almost as excited about it as Willow.


	8. Chapter 8: Batteries Not Included

**_For notes, warnings and disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Chapter 8: Batteries Not Included

I'm hiding next to Jim, helping him to remain grounded as he analyzes our surroundings, guiding him like I never have before. I have to admit it is strange but efficient and this whole thing has given me a new insight into how Jim's senses operate, one I couldn't even have dreamed of only a couple of days ago. Now I know exactly what he's seeing, hearing, smelling. It's almost as if his senses were mine and the truth is that being freed from the restrictions language had always imposed upon us is wonderful. This experience has also served to give me a new level of respect for my sentinel. It has enabled me to understand for the first time just what kind of input Jim has to filter out every moment of every day in a way that years of constant testing didn't allow me to even fathom. Now I **_know_** how hard he must struggle to keep from zoning, how painful sounds can really be, the level of concentration it takes for him to dial something down. It is enlightening --and I admit I'm having a hard time trying to keep myself from going into scientist mode-- but I have to keep reminding myself that that's not the primary objective of this link, that I'm not the only one who is 'linked' to Jim's senses now. I may be the one who's most closely connected, the one who is actually teamed up with him, but in a way we all are and the others are counting on us. This is a battle, lives are at stake and I can't afford to forget that... there will be time for experimentation later.

The other aspect of this thing that has been amazing has to do with the sudden realization of just how clumsy language really is when it comes to conveying meaning, not only because of its limited scope but also because of the time factor. If I were a linguist I'd be feeling extremely depressed by now. Through the link time is no longer an issue, we can literally communicate at the speed of thought, in full detail and our minds seem to be completely in sync, exchanging information about the situation even faster than we can register it... but somehow the link also feels painfully incomplete. We may have the senses, mind, coordination and mobility of a super organism but in an attempt to protect the ones we perceived as being weaker, the ones we felt had less to contribute to the actual battle, we crippled ourselves by basically leaving out our heart and our soul... or should that be our heart and our power source?

The thing is that we linked eight minds when we should have linked all eleven of them. I know that now just as I know that particular problem is going to be corrected just as soon as this is over but still it was an obvious mistake. Even though the plan to take down this demon is pretty straight forward and was hatched long before the idea of establishing a link was even conceived, those absences could still prove to be fatal. We knew from the time the new Council was formed that we **_all_** had a purpose... and that included Dawn, Xander and Andrew. In an attempt to protect the ones we felt were less able to protect themselves, the ones we thought had the least to offer, we seriously limited ourselves as a unit. As we now stand we are an impressive fighting machine... with a big neon sign that reads 'batteries not included' and Willow will be limited to her own power when it comes to shipping that demon literally out of this world. We are still fairly sure that her power will be more than enough but I believe we would all have felt more comfortable if we knew she'd been given full access to the Key's mystical energy.

As far as Xander and Andrew go, their absences feel less obvious as far as the upcoming battle is concerned but they are not less important. It is not so much that their not being linked lessens our effectiveness as a whole in terms of the actual fighting but rather that it narrows our perspective and weakens our sense of purpose. It is hard to explain. In a sense it makes us feel almost as if we were a kite that had its line cut and was left totally adrift. Caleb described Xander as 'the one who sees' when he took out his eye... I'm not entirely sure that's an accurate description, even if it is not totally wrong either. He sees, that's true, but mostly he feels... as oddly enough does Andrew. I know both Buffy and Willow are still wondering how on Earth Andrew got to be part of the team and I really can't explain it either, but by now I don't think anyone can deny that he is one of us... the only problem is that I'm not sure he believes it himself.

I remember the hurt look in his eyes when he heard about the link... or rather when he realized that he wasn't going to be a part of it. At first he was all excited, talking about Vulcan mind melds and then he got quiet... really quiet. After that he kept looking at us with such longing that I didn't even know what to say to him. He always works so hard trying to please everyone that he almost becomes a nuisance... and unfortunately sometimes the others, mostly Buffy, Dawn and Xander, have a tendency to take their frustrations out on him. He is a safe target, he is gentle and he never even tries to defend himself ... besides he is still convinced he has something he must atone for, be it for what he did with his former friends, or for Jonathan's death, or even because he is painfully aware that Anya died protecting him. I feel Buffy's glare inside my mind and I realize that I've succeeded in actually making her feel guilty. That's one side effect of the link I'm yet to get used to, I send her a silent apology and try to shift my attention back to the task at hand but it's not really working. I'm too fascinated by everything I'm now seeing and experiencing, by this new level of understanding that has revealed a new world to me. It's like the way in which a sunset can reveal magnificent colors you never even knew were there.

I sense Spike's smirk in my mind at that analogy and I _feel_ his comment that maybe I should cut it out before I start sounding like his former self and suddenly in my mind there's this image of William the Bloody (awful Victorian poet), I send a mind glare in his direction and that causes Methos to chuckle inside my head. Even now I can sense a camaraderie we hadn't shared before, one that is born out of an entirely new level of understanding. It is a wonderful feeling but it is also highly disturbing in a sense. There is a loss of individuality and a slight confusion due to the fact that old, familiar and **_basic_** concepts no longer seem to hold true. I'm struggling with the fact that I can no longer tell the difference between 'I' and 'we', concepts that are a cornerstone in how we perceive the world around us.

That is the part I still find somewhat disturbing but I guess that's to be expected after having lived my whole life alone in my own skin. I can almost hear Methos's amused 'you are thinking way too much' inside my head... and was that **_Willow_** who just had the nerve to tell me to quit my mind-babbling because it's giving her a headache?


	9. Chapter 9: The Highest Peak

**_For notes, warnings and disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Chapter 9: The Highest Peak

The battle itself turned out to be almost anticlimactic. Willow's plan worked like a charm and even though Tara had to get rid of a couple of clouds we didn't have much of a problem. It turned out that by choosing a seemingly 'weak' form the demon had lessened its physical power significantly, it could afford to do it seeing how brute strength was not a major factor in its strategy... not for hunting and certainly not for defending itself. It fed on those children it caught in its deception and it knew we wouldn't fight it directly. The demon was well aware of the fact that we feared its very nature and it knew we couldn't take the chance that it would actually be wounded in a frontal fight... as to the actual killing of its victims, then it was forced to revert to its natural form anyway so its human facade became irrelevant at that time.

The truth is that we were extremely lucky. The demon got cocky and because of that we managed to corner it out in the open. It was still taunting us with how there was nothing we could do to stop it when Willow got rid of it. It had assumed that the fact that it was bound to this dimension meant it was safe from magic and it never even saw it coming.

Oddly enough the thing that's bothering me is that the link worked like a charm in spite of a minor glitch, one Willow made sure was corrected as soon as we got home. She added the ones who were missing before dismissing the link. I was surprised by her decision to dismiss the link in stead of just terminating it. Making it permanent had not been the original plan but she said it would be easier to leave it dormant so that we could reactivate it whenever it was needed rather than to have to recreate it from scratch in case of emergency. Seeing how the original spell had turned out to be quite complicated and had required some rather unusual ingredients, I was forced to admit she had a valid point.

In fact the difficulties we encountered when gathering the necessary ingredients for the spell served to bring another point home: Now that things have calm down somewhat, maybe we should look into the possibility of recreating the Magic Box here in Cascade. I know that with no hellmouth around and very few true practitioners in the area it is unlikely to be a profitable venture. I can't help but fear that a new Magic Box would be doomed to make most of its business by selling incense and candles to new age types and catering to wannabes, but we do need a steady supply of ingredients for our own use and in order to obtain those without raising suspicions we will require an acceptable front. Another reason why I've been so reluctant to even consider the possibility of setting up a new store was deeper than the fact that I was too busy and it was made painfully clear earlier today when the link was completed. No matter what name I come up with for it, setting up a new magic shop is bound to become a constant and unavoidable reminder of Anya and I fear that neither Xander nor Andrew are ready to cope with that just yet.

I was shocked by the new understanding I gained of those around me today. I have no further doubts about any of them... not even about Spike. Ever since he came back a part of me has lived in constant fear for Buffy's well-being. I no longer feared that he would turn against us as I did before the battle against the First... his sacrifice was enough to convince me of his intentions, but I did fear the damage he could do to my slayer. A part of me had never been able to forgive him for what he did to her and it took the link for me to realize the depth of his feelings for her.

The link itself was very different from what I might have anticipated. I never really expected to enjoy the experience yet those few minutes in which all eleven of us were actually connected were absolutely amazing. I remember how when Buffy came back from Heaven she spoke of feeling like she was complete. I'm not saying it was the same thing but I think now I can finally understand what she meant... at least a little. Everything was absolutely perfect and that bothers me.

Through the millennia slayers and watchers have done their duty, died and been replaced, that's the way of the world, the nature of our fight and there's nothing we can do to change it and now we've taken our fight one step further. We have assembled a team here that can do things we never thought possible but I know it won't last. It can't last. Buffy and I can be replaced and the same could probably be said of Xander and Andrew, Methos is Immortal so that's not an issue but that's about it. Replacing Willow and Tara is going to be extremely difficult and replacing Jim and Blair is bound to be almost impossible. We don't know what will happen to the Key once Dawn is gone and one of the things I learned from the link today is the secret Blair attempted to keep from me after his visit to the Spirit Plane, when he asked Spike whether or not he wanted to return... the fact that Spike does not intend to survive Buffy.

All these months we've spent working, putting the new Council together, reshaping it into what it should have been all along, I never allowed myself to think about what would happen in the future... now I can think of nothing else. I know Wesley is doing a wonderful job with the other slayers, setting up an academy where they can get the training they need, teaching them to support each other. It's still somewhat surprising when I think of how he used to be the first time I met him. He has come a very long way in these past few years. The thing is that while the LA slayer academy has been a huge success and is something that will survive us, barring major earthquakes and other disasters, what we have here --what Xander once described as our dream team-- will not. What we have built here is something that cannot be duplicated.

We have climbed the highest mountain, I should be happy about that but the thing is that once you've reached the highest peak you have nowhere left to go but down.


	10. Chapter 10: Fiftyfifty

**_For notes, warnings and disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Chapter 10: Fifty-fifty

The waiting room is crowded, more than it's ever been on the numerous occasions I've been here before. In addition to the usual gang of Major Crimes which includes Simon, Joel, Brown, Rafe and Megan there are the Scoobies... or most of them. Giles is sitting with Dawn curled up beside him while Tara and Willow have claimed a corner for themselves and keep throwing anxious glances toward the door. Xander and Andrew are a collection of nervous twitches and have been doing snack runs and coffee runs about every half hour. Methos appears to be oddly calm and I can't help but wonder how many friends he has lost in countless hospitals over the centuries and Buffy is clinging to me. I can hardly believe that it wasn't even three years ago that she was holding Blair up against a wall. She has really grown to rely on him since that first encounter and I can tell she's terrified of losing him... it's not like I can blame her, I'm right there with her. The only one of our little group who is still missing is Spike, who was forced to stay behind due to the fact that the sun is shining and the waiting room too exposed. He will be here in a few hours, but even though he is not physically with us I can still feel him through the link and I can tell he is as anxious as the rest of us.

It was such a stupid way for my guide to get hurt, trying to stop a mugger. That peace loving side of him got him as I always feared it would. He was reluctant to pull his gun on a man armed with nothing more than a knife, he tried to talk his way out of the situation and ended up getting stabbed for his trouble. It is bad. The pericardium was damaged and it seems like the heart itself may have been nicked, though luckily it wasn't punctured, still the doctors give him only a fifty-fifty chance of pulling through. I know the little spiel, I've been here before. We have to wait until he gets out of surgery, if he makes it through that we will then be told that he is not out of the woods yet, that the next forty eight hours are going to be critical... and then those forty eight hours are going to be stretched indefinitely, turning into seventy two or ninety six... however long it takes. Good news never comes quickly when waiting here, only bad news comes suddenly.

The doctor's look was almost comical when he first saw our little group. He was expecting the usual Major Crimes contingent to descend on his hospital but he wasn't expecting a full blown Scoobie invasion. I was grateful when Giles chose to remain silent when the doctor addressed me as Blair's next of kin. Had Naomi been here I would have had a fight in my hands... a fight over life support, a fight over modern medicine, a fight over my right to speak for my guide.

My mind keeps replaying today's events, trying to make sense of it all, but I can't. I don't understand, I don't **_want_** to understand. All I know is that my guide may be dying once more and there's nothing I can do to help him. I'm powerless while strangers hold his life in their hands and I hate it.

The moments following the actual stabbing are a blur. I remember shooting the perp as soon as I realized what he intended to do but I wasn't fast enough, pulling my cell to call for help and then feeling the link flare up almost on its own. I knew it had remained dormant but I never thought it would be possible for me or Blair to activate it. The moment I sensed my guide's essence fading away was one of the most awful in my life. I was certain I had lost him and there was so much blood everywhere, then the ambulance came and they took him away from me. When we reached the hospital the Scoobies were already here waiting for us and I don't even want to think of how many traffic laws they must have broken in order to beat us. It was Giles who had the presence of mind to call Simon and less than fifteen minutes later the guys arrived. I don't know how long we've been here. Time doesn't matter.

Eventually I see Blair's doctor approach and I am puzzled by the look on his face. I can still feel my guide's presence, I know he is still alive, he made it out of the operating room, in fact I can feel him getting stronger with every passing minute and yet the doctor looks completely lost. It is not the studied compassion I have seen countless times when they have to deliver bad news nor is it the relief that comes with good news. This is something different, the man seems to be baffled by something and I can barely contain myself as I wait for him to speak.


	11. Chapter 11: A Tangled Web

**_For notes, warnings and disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Chapter 11: A Tangled Web

I still cannot believe the doctor's words. I knew my son was still alive but to hear the man apologize for a misdiagnosis was not something I was expecting. It seems that his wound was far less severe than they had originally thought and the heart was not compromised at all. The short story is that Blair is now in a recovery room and from there he will be moved directly into a regular room... there's no need for him to be in ICU. I am so relieved but then I catch a glimpse of Jim's eyes and I am caught totally off guard. I can see relief there too but through the link I can feel that there's something else troubling him.

I ask him mentally what it is but he can't really explain... as far as he is concerned what the doctor just told us makes no sense at all. He was there when Blair was stabbed and he knew how bad it had really been... in fact for a moment he had been sure his guide's heart had been punctured. Even though Jim knows a fatal wound when he sees it he had originally managed to accept the doctor's explanation that only the pericardium had been damaged in the attack, he had even felt relieved by the fact that he had overestimated how serious the situation really was. The problem is that Jim knows enough to know that this 'second' misdiagnosis cannot be explained... or rather he knows that it cannot possibly be explained by natural means. It takes me a second for the implications of what he is saying to sink in and then I realize in how much trouble we really are.

I am all too aware of the fact that we have to come up with a way to get Blair out of here before the doctors notice that they are dealing with a 'miracle'. We were lucky in that the initial and more devastating assessment was made by Jim alone so the hospital staff is unaware of it, but the second one has been recorded on his charts and since he is being closely monitored it will be only a matter of hours at best before they figure out that there is something unusual going on.

That means we don't have much time before the men in black show up. That has to be our top priority... we'll have time to figure out just what on Earth is going on later. I know most of the Scoobies have been following my little talk with Jim through the link and they are already planning possible diversions but it's not going to be that simple. If it were just the nine of us it would be easy enough but Blair's colleagues are here and the fact that they are detectives doesn't exactly help matters either. We will need to find a way to get Blair out of here legally and **_that_** is bound to be a challenge.

I turn to Methos, knowing that he is the one most likely to come up with a viable plan, but he is not sure of what to do either. Getting dead Immortals out of the morgue, he is familiar with, getting should-be-terminally-injured shamans out of recovery rooms is not his thing. I know Willow could probably take care of Blair's medical records without leaving a trail using a computer but right now there are just too many people around who know about Blair's condition for a memory spell to work, and modifying his records while he is here and they can still remember is not an option. Modifying those records is something that will have to be done once we are out of here, obviously, but I know we can't risk it just yet.

I know Jim has Blair's power of attorney and I am his father so theoretically we could demand that he be released against medical advise, but that would cause too many questions to be asked and I know Jim's colleagues wouldn't buy it. They just know him too well not to question such a move.

To make matters worse --or better, I'm not sure-- I sense that my son is beginning to stir and I know that if he is already fighting the anesthetic we are running out of time. It is just one more sign that something unusual is going on here. I let him know that we are here and I tell him to fake it, to do everything in his power to conceal the fact that he is awake. We need to keep them from asking questions for as long as we can. The good news is that given that Blair is now awake that means we can monitor the situation up in his room so that we can take desperate action should it become necessary... the bad news is that we are still one plan short and we just don't know what are we supposed to do to get him out of here.

I see Captain Banks giving me a strange look and when he pulls me aside I realize that he is aware that there is something going on between us. Not knowing what else to do I come clean to him. I know he is aware of the existence of vampires, slayers, Immortals and demons but I'm still reluctant to trust him however I know I don't really have a choice. We need to get Blair out of here and he and his men represent our biggest obstacle. The hospital I'm almost sure we can handle with a combination of misdirection, surprise and magic but I know my son well enough to realize that he would have a hard time forgiving us for messing with his friends' memories. After a long suffering 'I don't want to hear about it' he manages to get his people out of here for a few minutes, giving us the window of opportunity we so desperately needed.

* * *

**_Author's note_**: hi guys, okay, just one more chapter to go. I'll probably post it on Monday rather than Friday because I don't like the idea of posting a final chapter on a major holiday. Sorry about the delay... and thanks for sticking with me,

Alec


	12. Chapter 12: And the Pawn Is Crowned

**_For notes, warnings and disclaimers see chapter 1_**

Chapter 12: ... And the Pawn Is Crowned

We've been back at headquarters for a couple of hours and my son is continuing his miraculous recovery. In fact he is almost fully healed by now and getting more than a little peeved at Jim's constant mothering... and Buffy is with them, not helping.

Now that I've had a chance to think about it I can understand what happened a little better, in a sense it is obvious and yet I never would have expected it. I should have known what was happening from the moment I first felt my son's weakening life force coursing through the link. What was calling me wasn't his voice or even his thoughts and that should have been enough for me to figure out what was going on... in fact I should have figured it out long before Blair got hurt in the first place, before we took down that Ylnevaeh demon. I should have noticed what was happening from the moment I realized that Dawn was important, when I realized that the link would give Willow access to the Key's power. There's no way that a pre-linguistic link could possibly have done that.

Even though the link was originally meant to be pre-linguistic in nature, somehow --I don't know how-- it got to be more than that, it went deeper than it was supposed to go. It did more than tangle our minds to enable us to communicate over long distances without linguistic restrictions, it tangled our life forces, our vital energies. In a twisted parody of the Immortals' game the link made us one and today we got further proof of that. Under extreme circumstances we can now call on the knowledge and power of the others to some extent... and Methos is one of us.

It was only a few days ago that I was wondering what would happen to this new Council once we were gone and now I've got my answer in the form I least expected it. The Council will survive as long as we do just as I knew it would, only --if what happened today is any indication-- it now seems like our own expiration dates have been reset. If I'm right --if our life forces have truly merged-- then that means that as long as Methos is alive the rest of us will live.

How deep does that connection run? The truth is that I don't know... not exactly. I know that it runs deep enough to allow my son to heal himself by drawing energy from Methos's quickening but I don't know if it would allow me to have a slayer's strength if the circumstances were desperate enough just like I don't know if it means that Spike can now go out into the sun without turning to dust. Those are things I suspect we will discover eventually... there's no hurry, suddenly we have all the time in the world.

Hopefully I will also have plenty of time to worry about semantics later. Even though for the time being I am tempted to describe what binds us as a combined life force --a combined vital energy-- I am all too aware of just how woefully inappropriate both of those terms really are... if they weren't I wouldn't currently be linked to an all too dead vampire.

The thing is that through our lives we've been nothing but pawns in some sort of twisted chess game played by the Powers, a game we couldn't possibly understand. I'd like to believe in the existence of my own free will but that is growing increasingly difficult. It's as if every move, every day of our lives had been carefully planned and executed to bring us to where we now stand. I fathered a son when I was little more than a child myself but I never knew about him and in time my son became a shaman in his own right, something that probably wouldn't have happened had I been in his life. I became the watcher to a slayer that set every tradition on its ear, a slayer who fell in love with two vampires along the way, made friends in spite of her calling and who --with her friends' help-- managed to defeat every single odd that could possibly have been staked against her, up to and including death (again, twice). By some twist of fate I met my son and I established a relationship with him, that relationship eventually brought us to Cascade when Sunnydale was destroyed. Once here we tried to rebuild the Council and against all odds that brought the world's oldest Immortal straight to our door. Over the past eight years or so we have somehow managed to assemble a totally impossible band of misfits --including a green ball of mystical energy and a willingly ensouled vampire-- and I cannot believe that any of it was a mere coincidence. The thing is that in spite of our differences --or perhaps because of them-- we are an effective team and now that we've reached our goal I can finally see where it was that the game was leading us all along.

If I had really taken the time to think about my total lack of free will before today it would almost certainly have bothered me. Yesterday the thought of being nothing but a pawn in someone else's game would have been deeply disturbing but now that has changed. Against all odds my son is still alive and today... today we were crowned.

THE END! (yes, that's all, folks! Thanks for reading)


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